Cody Snavely
The Dodgers kicked off the 2023 NLDS with one of the worst first innings I have seen in a long time, started by longtime vet Clayton Kershaw, who was poised to get LA off to a good start against a familiar foe. However, as we all saw on national TV, the Diamondbacks came out swinging, knocking out Kershaw, who could only get one out in the game. It is easy for most fans to blame Kershaw for this performance, and to an extent, it is, but the real blame should be placed on Dave Roberts and Andrew Freidman for allowing him to even make the roster due to his shoulder.
Kershaw’s shoulder injury is a huge problem.
One of the most prominent question marks in the second half was how Clayton Kershaw would rebound after missing over a month with a left shoulder injury. The results were 50/50 as Kershaw was able to provide around 4-5 solid innings, but his command and velocity were very inconsistent. The Dodgers, who were desperate for starting pitching at the deadline, only got one arm in Lance Lynn to help solidify the rotation. Still, that rotation was essentially just Kershaw and rookie Bobby Miller in October.
In terms of pitcher injuries, the worst one is undoubtedly the elbow or UCL; however, a very close second is a shoulder injury, as not many guys can come back from that, especially at Kershaw’s age. While Kershaw has stated time and time again that he is “healthy,” the writing is on the walls that he is not, and even manager Dave Roberts said as much. While Kershaw has taken the mound every five to six days, his velocity, as mentioned, has decreased, averaging at around 88-90 for his fastball. His command has also taken a dip, and it has increasingly been more challenging for him to put guys away if he cannot command his slider or curveball. Add all this together against a playoff team like Arizona, and what happened yesterday is the result. The Diamondbacks were attacking Kershaw early, and while Kershaw was throwing strikes, his 89 MPH fastball would not get it done, especially if he hung his offspeed as he did to Gabriel Moreno.
Dave Roberts waited too long.
To go along with Kershaw and the hits he was allowing, Dave Roberts waited too long to pull Kershaw. The game plan was only to allow Kershaw to go five innings max, and if that was the case, the bullpen should have been ready at the first time of trouble. I know that it sounds typical to make Roberts the scapegoat in this situation, but as a guy who never really criticizes Roberts, I think he is as much to blame for this start as Kershaw. For starters, the exit velocity on nearly every hit Kershaw allowed was at or over 100 MPH off the bat, which means that they were not only hitting off Kershaw, but they were all over him. With the amount of technology in baseball, surely someone in the dugout should have pointed this out as a sign that something is wrong with their starter.
To not even have a mound visit to talk things over was also something I think was crazy, and if you did have to take Kershaw out due to injury, they would have allowed whoever came in to take as much time as needed to warm up. Roberts also allowed him to face an RHB in Evan Longoria, which was another mistake as he sat at the top of the step and pulled him after an RBI double from the former Ray/Giant.
Starting Kershaw game four is a mistake.
At the end of the day, Kershaw is one of the best pitchers of his generation, and while he does not have the best postseason track record, the Dodgers can simply not let him go out there in Arizona hurt and pitch in a stadium where in his career he has struggled. In his career, Kershaw has a 3.91 ERA facing Arizona at Chase Field, and with his shoulder injury not going away and the Dodgers fighting to force a game five, perhaps if they lose game two or three, you have to roll the dice with someone else.
The Dodgers will look to get back on track, and I have all the faith in the World that the combination of Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot, and Perhaps Lance Lynn, can pitch us back to a series win.
